Home>Levelset Community>Legal Help>I haven’t gotten my contractors license yet. I did a job for a customer and there was a problem that I didn’t fix because of many issues I send someone to fix it and I payed for the fix but he wants me to give him more money that he said he spend I told him to give me prove that he payed and I would pay him. He doesn’t have prove because he did not pay more. Now he says he is going to sue me for that total amount of the job. He has been arassing me via text calls and he went to my house and scared my son. He called me and recorded a mesg saying that I told his wife I was going to kill her and her sons. He did that so if we have to go to court say that I in fact did when I never did. What can happen. Can I sue him for harressment and is his suit going to affect me?
I haven’t gotten my contractors license yet. I did a job for a customer and there was a problem that I didn’t fix because of many issues I send someone to fix it and I payed for the fix but he wants me to give him more money that he said he spend I told him to give me prove that he payed and I would pay him. He doesn’t have prove because he did not pay more. Now he says he is going to sue me for that total amount of the job. He has been arassing me via text calls and he went to my house and scared my son. He called me and recorded a mesg saying that I told his wife I was going to kill her and her sons. He did that so if we have to go to court say that I in fact did when I never did. What can happen. Can I sue him for harressment and is his suit going to affect me?
I'm very sorry to hear about that - it all sounds very stressful. First and foremost: Where death threats (or alleged ones) have been tossed around, the authorities should be alerted. Construction payment disputes are one thing, but threats against life and limb are another - and it's a good idea to be as cautious as possible. Plus, that will help to create an official record of everything that has taken place. Regarding the payment dispute, if no payment is owed, then the party threatening lawsuit over nonpayment won't have a basis for their suit. A party could certainly file a lawsuit based on an improper basis, but there are penalties for filing frivolous lawsuits, and it should not be hard to debunk an argument that the entire value of the project is owed when the claimant has only done a small repair (and has already been paid for that repair). Still, even while a lawsuit might be thwarted relatively easily, it could definitely still cause plenty of stress, take lots of time, and cost a pretty penny. Avoiding a lawsuit will almost always be preferable to engaging in one. As mentioned above, reporting a party that has made ridiculous claims and then threatened violence could go a long way toward resolving the issue - even if civil or criminal penalties aren't in play, having an official record of what has occurred could be invaluable. As far as the ability to file a harassment suit - that's a little outside of my expertise. However, the California Court System has a guide that might be helpful: Understanding Abuse & Harassment Laws. Further, other online resources that explore topics beyond construction law might be helpful here - like Avvo.com. Lastly, considering there's a payment dispute, a potential harassment suit, and threats of violence in play, it might be wise to reach out to a local attorney and have them review your situation. They'll be able to give you advice on how best to proceed.